Philadelphia Tribune - Index

Philadelphia Tribune - Tuesday, August 26 2008 - Index

CLASSIFIEDS
PAGE 3C
OBITUARIES
PAGE 4C
LIFESTYLES
PAGES 5-6C
Michelle Obama
Michelle
Obama:
Speech is
personal
Christopher Wills
DENVER — Michelle Obama cast the personal
histories of herself and husband Barack as
“quintessential American stories” on Monday as
she prepared to re-introduce her husband to U.S.
voters at the Democratic National Convention.
She was the showcase speaker on Day One of
the convention, and her mission was to help
voters get to know the Democratic nominee as
a husband and father, as someone who understands
the problems that U.S. families face
every day.
“Our stories are the quintessential American
stories,” she said in an interview CNN aired
Monday. “I am here because of the opportunities
that my father had, that my mother had.
You know, we are who Americans were supposed
to be.”
Voters know the public Barack Obama who
appears on magazine covers and nightly newscasts.
His wife hoped to reassure voters that her
husband is a lot like they are, despite all the
attention given to his African father, incendiary
comments by his longtime minister and his
exotic name.
And in an age when candidates’ spouses face
scrutiny, too, Obama also hoped to send the
message that she is a true believer in American
values. The Obama campaign said Michelle
Obama’s life adds up to “a great American
story: modest means, but big dreams — and
encouragement from loving parents.”
The campaign prepared “South Side Girl,” a
biographical film narrated by Michelle
Obama’s mother, to run before her speech.
The title refers to the South Side neighborhood
of Chicago where she grew up. She was
being introduced by her brother, Craig
Robinson, the head basketball coach at Oregon
State University.
Michelle – Page 2C
C SECTION
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
2008 DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION
Formal rivals work out
a deal for roll call vote
Sen. Clinton vows full support for Sen. Obama
Hillary Clinton is introduced on Monday morning, at the New York delegate breakfast, at the Sheraton Hotel in Denver. Clinton was the keynote
speaker. — AP PHOTO/ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS, KEN PAPALEO
Nedra Pickler
and Devlin Barrett
DENVER — Hillary Rodham Clinton and
Barack Obama worked out a convention deal to
give her some votes in the Democratic roll call
for president, a step toward an uneasy alliance
of former rivals and their still-bitter supporters.
Many Clinton backers said Monday they
were not interested in compromise and wanted
a prime-time celebration of Clinton’s nomination
fight. Clinton herself said she would not
tell her backers how to vote.
Still, she told supporters she would cast her
own vote for Obama and said, “We were not all
on the same side as Democrats, but we are
now.”
Democratic officials involved in the negotiations
said Monday the plan calls for a state-bystate
vote for the presidential nomination
Wednesday night, with delegates casting their
ballots for Clinton or Obama.
But the voting would be cut off after several
states, the officials said, perhaps ending with
New York, when Clinton herself would call for
unanimous nomination of Obama by acclamation
from the convention floor. The officials
spoke on condition of anonymity while the deal
was being finalized.
It was not clear whether there would be floor
demonstrations for Clinton after her name was
placed in nomination, a spectacle that could
detract from Obama’s political coronation.
Obama won 365 more delegates than Clinton
in a hotly contested primary battle. Clinton
ended her campaign weeks ago and urged her
supporters to back Obama, but many have not
accepted that message.
Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, the eldest
child of the late Robert F. Kennedy and a former
lieutenant governor of Maryland, said the
animosity that some Clinton delegates feel
toward Obama “is getting worse.”
Townsend, a Maryland delegate, was a
strong Clinton supporter but now is fully
behind Obama. She said she partly understands
why some of her colleagues have not
joined her yet.
“There’s a moment that you want to enjoy
your bitterness,” she said.
Clinton said she has told her delegates she
will vote for Obama, but she would not instruct
them how to vote. Many of those delegates, she
told reporters Monday, will probably vote for
him. Others, she said, “feel an obligation to the
people who sent them here that they were
elected to represent.”
Mary Boergers, a Maryland delegate, scoffed
at the notion that suppressing the Clinton roll
call would help show solidarity behind Obama.
“To try to suppress the celebration that we
all want to have about her achievements is
what would tear this party apart,” she said.
Worried about that exact scenario, the
Obama and Clinton teams have held tense
negotiations over how the convention will
unfold. One possible compromise: The New
York senator will be the headliner Tuesday
night. Her husband, former President Bill
Clinton, will speak Wednesday — part of her
request that he be on a separate night, negotiators
said.
The dealmaking indicates the divided nature
of the party — Obama does not have full control
over a convention that includes many del-
S. Phila. buzzing after opening of Obama office
Shown are some of the volunteers at the South Philadelphia headquarters for the
Obama presidential campaign. Tyie Thompson, standing far right, is one of four people
who run the office. — PHOTO/ROBERT MENDELSOHN
Arlene Edmonds
Tribune Correspondent
There was much excitement as
Kenny Gamble cut the red ribbon on
the South Philadelphia neighborhood
headquarters for the Barack Obama
presidential campaign. The office,
located at 1501 Christian St., is
equipped with computers, desks and
telephones. Streams of volunteers
have already signed up to get the
Democratic vote out in the surrounding
community this November.
Immediately after the ribbon was
cut last week, a multigenerational
group of Obama supporters began lining
up to buy official campaign buttons.
Others were purchasing an array of
“Vote Obama” T-shirts from a vendor
across Christian Street. Still others
posed in front of the life size cardboard
figure of the Democratic presidential
candidate as a friend or relative took
pictures from their cellular phones.
“I am glad that they wanted to come
here to South Philadelphia,” said
Gamble after the official ribbon cutting
last Thursday evening. “I am very
supportive of what is best for this
neighborhood. I feel Obama is the best
thing for America right now. I hope he
will make change, and that’s what I’m
all about. I believe that this community
could come back and I believe
Obama can positively change
America.”
Faatimah Gamble was busily shaking
hands with those who entered the
headquarters after registering at the
front desk.
“Just the presence of this office will
bring a dynamic energy to this neighborhood,”
she said. “You can already
feel the ambiance. It’s a brand new
day. It’s amazing to just see that so
many people came out and the diversity
of people who are here. I hope as
many of them will help out as possible.”
Perhaps no one was more enthusiastic
about the opening of the Obama
community office than Baba
Yatahma.
The South Philadelphia native still
Clinton – Page 2C
resides in the area near 5th and
Front streets. He said that the
Universal Companies, founded by
Gamble, is transforming his old
neighborhood just like he thinks
Obama will do for the nation.
“There is a new energy in affect,”
Yatahma said. “God has his hand in
this election. I think this is the year
that the tides will turn. There was a
time for Dr. King, Malcolm and now
Obama. I think that the office here is
going to stabilize the community and
bring about change that will change
the energy all around us.”
Cheryl Harper of the Democratic
Committee added that neighborhood
offices will play a key role on Election
Day.
She spearheads volunteer efforts in
the 50th, 10th and 17th wards in
Northwest Philadelphia. She said that
during last spring’s primary race,
Obama could have taken the state of
Pennsylvania with just a few more
votes in neighborhoods like West,
Office – Page 2C